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What it says
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Next: test the first question
Whichever type fits your limits, the first test is whether the average trade makes money after costs. Check the numbers before anything else.
What is included
- The calculator, with your own numbers
- The formula written out
- A worked example you can reproduce
- Where grid, martingale and DCA bots break the maths
Who it is for
- People running or testing a trading bot
- Anyone sizing a position or checking costs
- Readers learning how the numbers work
- Not advice, and not for placing trades
Key facts
- This is a thinking aid with fixed rules, printed on this page. The same answers always give the same result.
- It sorts six bot types: DCA, grid, trend following, martingale or recovery, signal or copy services and AI or machine learning.
- "Handle with care" means the type's worst case does not fit a limit you gave, such as your drawdown limit, account size or market. It is not a ban.
- "Worth studying first" means the type fits the limits you gave. It is a list of topics to study and test, never a recommendation to run anything.
- Signal and copy services are included for the risks only. Nothing here points to a service.
- The thresholds are the rules of this tool, set by us. They are judgements, not measured facts about any bot or market.
How the picker makes its answer
There is no scoring model behind this and no data on how bots perform. It applies a short list of rules to your five answers. Each rule says: for this bot type, this answer puts the worst case outside the limit you gave. A type with at least one such rule is listed under Handle with care, with the reason. The types with none are ranked by a few points, and the top two or three are listed under Worth studying first.
The wording is deliberate. The result says a type "fits the limits you gave", not that it is right for you. Fitting a drawdown limit says nothing about whether the bot makes money after costs. Check that with the expected value calculator once you have real numbers.
The rules that put a type under Handle with care
| Bot type | Flagged when | Why the rule exists |
|---|---|---|
| DCA | Drawdown limit under 35 percent, or a leveraged market (crypto futures, forex, futures) | DCA keeps buying as an asset falls, so its worst case is the asset's own fall. On leverage the held position adds a liquidation level. |
| Grid | Drawdown limit under 20 percent; account under $1,000; crypto futures or futures | A slide through the range leaves every buy filled. Small money per grid meets minimum orders and fees. Leverage adds a liquidation price. |
| Trend following | Drawdown limit under 20 percent; futures with an account under $10,000 | Trend systems can lose repeatedly between trends. A futures contract is large against a small account. |
| Martingale or recovery | Always | The worst case is the whole stack, and in the end the whole account. No answer on this page changes that. |
| Signal or copy services | New to trading, or drawdown limit under 35 percent | A record can be short or selected, and the worst fall of a copied account is not known in advance. |
| AI or machine learning | Not experienced, or almost no time per week | Building and testing it takes experience, and it needs monitoring and retraining. |
How the points order the rest
Only types that are not flagged get points. Every type starts with a base, then adds points when a fact favours it. The top three by points are listed, and a tie keeps the order DCA, grid, trend following, AI.
| Bot type | Base | Extra points |
|---|---|---|
| DCA | 2 | +2 for crypto spot or stocks; +1 for almost no time; +1 if new |
| Grid | 2 | +2 for crypto spot, +1 for crypto futures; +1 if you have some time; +1 if some experience |
| Trend following | 2 | +1 for forex, futures or stocks; +1 if not new; +1 for a drawdown limit of 35 or more |
| AI or machine learning | 1 | +2 if experienced; +1 for an account of $10,000 or more |
Signal and copy services are never listed under "Worth studying first". Even when none of its rules fire, the tool treats them as education about risk only.
A worked example
Take the made-up answers in the picture: an account of $1,000 to $10,000, a few hours a week, a drawdown limit of 20 percent, crypto spot, and new to trading. DCA is flagged, because 20 is under 35. Martingale is always flagged. Signal or copy is flagged because the trader is new and because 20 is under 35. AI is flagged because the trader is not experienced. That leaves grid and trend following. Grid scores 2 + 2 (crypto spot) + 1 (time available) = 5, and trend following scores 2 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 2. So the tool lists Grid and Trend following to study first and 4 types under care.
Change only the drawdown limit to 35 percent and DCA drops out of the care list, because its limit rule no longer fires. Change the market to futures with the same account and grid and trend following both gain a flag. The result moves with the limits you give, which is the point.
What a bot-type quiz cannot know
- It does not know the bot. Two grid bots can have different ranges, sizes and stops. The rules describe the type, not a product.
- It does not know the market now. A type that fits today's limits can behave differently in a different market.
- It does not measure your tolerance. People overestimate the drawdown they can sit through. A limit you picked in a calm moment may feel different at the bottom.
- It does not check costs. A type can fit every limit and still lose money after fees and spread.
Where to go next for each type
For DCA, read DCA bots. For grids, read grid trading. For the doubling idea behind the care flag on recovery bots, read martingale trading. Whatever type you study, the first question is the same: does the average trade make money after every cost? The expected value calculator answers that for numbers you can measure.
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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this telling me which bot to run?
No. It is a thinking aid. It says which bot types have a worst case inside the limits you typed in, and which do not. It does not say which will make money, and it cannot know your full situation.
Why is martingale always flagged?
Its design is to add to losing positions, so its worst case is the loss of the whole stack and then the account. No answer offered in this quiz lifts that, which is why the rule has no condition.
Why are signal and copy services included?
Because people meet them in the same search as bots. They are listed for the risk only: a track record that may be short or selected, and a worst fall you cannot see in advance. The tool never points to a service.
The result changed when I changed one answer. Is that a flaw?
No. It is how the rules work. Each answer moves a limit, and a type is flagged when its worst case crosses one. Try the answers one at a time to see which rule fires.
Are the thresholds like 35 percent facts about bots?
No. They are cut-offs chosen for this tool, so a reader can see how an answer is made. Another author might set them elsewhere. Your own broker, market and bot decide the real numbers.
Are the numbers on this page real?
Example numbers are made up to show how the maths works, and the page says so. A figure only counts as exact when the page says it was calculated on a stated date. Nothing you enter in a calculator leaves your browser.
Can I use this to decide whether to run a bot?
It can show whether a bot's numbers hold together and how much an account can lose. It cannot say what the market will do, and it is not advice. Use it to ask better questions, then read the terms of your own broker or exchange.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a rules based quiz and general education. It does not consider your situation, and nothing in it is a recommendation to run any bot.
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